Connected Struggles: Networks of Anticolonial Solidarity and the Liberation Movements of the Portuguese Colonies in Africa

The struggle for independence led by the liberation movements of the Portuguese colonies in Africa combined several international and global dimensions, as well as many transnational networks of anticolonial solidarity. This chapter explores how anticolonial solidarity expressed in political forums (such as the Khartoum Conference, the Netherlands Meeting and the Rome Conference) fueled the growth of European anticolonial support and internationalized African demands for independence in the Portuguese colonies. Additionally, it highlights how the leading figures of African liberation movements embraced the concept of solidarity and operationalized it with their liberation projects. This chapter argues that a more rounded understanding of liberation movements’ activities must take into consideration their entanglements in transcultural political discourses and anticolonial practices, as well as the networks of anti-imperialist solidarity they generated.